October 2024 – Parks & Recreation - 26

RESEARCH
The Park and Recreation Salary Survey
Report Returns
By Samantha Serrano
B
ehind the park and recreation spaces and programming where we
connect, play and learn, hundreds of thousands of full- and parttime
and seasonal staff work nationwide to bring these valuable
resources to our communities.
Competitive salaries and robust
benefits attract and retain the best
staff for these teams. And, compensation
and salary benchmarks assist
both employers and candidates to
make informed decisions based on
current trends. That is why NRPA
conducts the Park and Recreation
Salary Survey to collect these data
across the park and recreation field
for the 13 most common positions.
The findings of the 2024 survey will
be released in late September. Here
we present to you a sneak peek of
some of those findings.
Salaries and Wages
Increased in 2024
This year, median salary increases
for the 13 positions ranged from 3 to
9 percent, with the highest increase
for fitness center managers. Like
2023, the two most common salary
changes resulted from cost-of-living
adjustments (COLAs) (reported by
77 percent of agencies) and individual
performance (reported by 55
percent of agencies). Park and recreation
agencies that offer bonuses
increased from 46 percent in 2023 to
53 percent in 2024.
Salaries vary by role and responsibilities,
with agency directors receiving
the highest compensation
among the 13 positions. However,
compensation for the same role
also can differ, depending on the
agency's size, type, region and the
individual's education and years of
experience. In the report, readers
can review a compensation summary
for each position broken down
by these characteristics. Following
previous years' trends, typical agencies
that are larger, located in special
park districts or in the West tend to
offer higher salaries. In addition,
professionals with university degrees,
park and recreation certifications
and more years of experience
tend to earn greater compensation
than those without.
The report also presents findings
on current minimum wage policies
for hourly workers,
like part-time
and seasonal employees. This year,
88 percent of agencies reported paying
minimum wages at or greater
than the locality/state minimum and
higher than the federal hourly wage
of $7.25 (up three percentage points
from 2023). This trend was seen
across agencies of all sizes and types.
Furthermore, 46 percent of agencies
reported paying a minimum wage of
$15 or more per hour.
Agencies Continued to
Offer Benefits Comparable
to 2023
The report also includes an overview
of benefits
recreation
that park and
professionals may receive.
Generally, benefits in 2024
26 Parks & Recreation | O CTOBER 2 0 2 4 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
were comparable to those offered
in 2023, including paid time off,
health insurance and defined benefit
or defined contribution retirement
plans (reported by at least 99
percent of agencies surveyed).
Other
continuing benefits
note were continuing
of
education
(i.e., courses, conferences) offered
by 96 percent of agencies, funded
fully by 76 percent; life insurance
offered by 95 percent of agencies,
funded fully by 53 percent; and
employee assistance/counseling
offered by 92 percent of agencies,
funded fully by 79 percent.
There also were some positive
changes in 2024 for parents and
people using healthcare. This included
an increase in
available
leave associated with the birth or
adoption of a child from 39 to 50
percent (up 11 percentage points)
and increases in 100 percent coverage
of health insurance premiums.
Check Out the Report
The full report provides valuable
insights into what a career in the
park and recreation field can offer.
Use NRPA's 2024 Park and Recreation
Salary Survey Report to help
set expectations using benchmarking
data from the field. Check it out
at nrpa.org/Research.
Thank you to the many park and recreation
professionals and their agencies
for contributing to this survey.
Samantha Serrano is Senior Research
and Evaluation Manager at NRPA
(sserrano@nrpa.org).
http://www.nrpa.org/Research
October 2024 – Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2024 – Parks & Recreation
